Brkthru

The Brkthru Leadership Team gathered in Boston last week for its Spring Offsite, bringing together leaders in Client Success, Client Services, Media, Analytics, Sales Development, Organizational Management, Finance, Strategy, Measurement & Performance, Marketing and Executive Team. This incredibly talented group focused their attention on doing even more of what makes Brkthru a valued digital media partner – the unsurpassed level of service we provide clients. This is how Brkthru has become a leader in digital advertising for independent agencies and advertisers, and by consistently managing successful campaigns for local, regional and national clients in nearly every vertical. We took time to mark the special occasion of Brkthru’s launch seven years ago and celebrate the seventh anniversaries of founders Jeff Hastedt and Andrew Sklerov. There was also an occasion to anoint our recently promoted president, Jonathan Mellinger, as “King Pin” during an evening of bowling. We had more gutter balls than strikes and spares, but few were seriously keeping score.

Brkthru again honors a new group of the Platinum Performers - team members who consistently perform at a level of five out of five stars: Ashlee Catalutch Tyler Reaser Ryan Stuart Chris Harang Ben Coburn Jason Lamoreaux These six consistently exhibit the characteristics that embody the Brkthru culture and work ethic. They put our clients first while maintaining a positive attitude, lend a helping hand to colleagues, and find ways to say yes for colleagues and clients. Way to go Platinum Performers!

Brkthru team members joined up in locations across the country recently for Hub Hangouts, and to take advantage of warmer Spring weather. This month … Our 757 VA Hub had a lovely Happy Hour Hangout at the beach Margaritas were on the menu for the Austin Hub The Tampa Hub relaxed with competitive putting at PopStroke (and had one hole-in-one) Brkthru’s Philly Hub got some swings in at Top Golf (and a HUG) Cincinnati Hub gathered for brunch at A Taste of Belgium The Dub Hub (DFW) escaped to an escape room Our Miami hub was pampered with pedicures And the Boston Hub went to Boda Borg, an escape room and then a brewery. Our Hub Hangouts are an opportunity for groups of Brkthru employees in hubs across the country to get together once-a-month at a location of their choosing to socialize and spend quality time together.

Campaign Performance: What is it?   by Traci Will, Vice President of Performance & Measurement Naturally those of us in the media industry talk often about media performance. But when we use the word“performance,” are we all saying the same thing?  What is performance, anyway?  Thinking back to my first internet advertising gig, the company I worked for delivered banner ads to end users via a “View Bar.”   The banner was larger than today’s leaderboard, and the view bar was persistent (it was always there, no matter where you were surfing). Based on size and persistence, you might say that “attention” or “awareness” should have been a relevant performance KPI.  Yet, clicking was a novelty to the newcomers of the internet, and the industry had not yet mastered digital brand studies. So, the click through rate (CTR) was an extremely popular metric of ad performance in 2000. If you said “performance,” it was assumed you meant a click. It was not unusual to see CTRs ranging from .50% to 2%. Did those clicks impact the advertiser’s bottom line? We did not know the answer, but we popped open champagne to celebrate the whiz bang of a CTR. Thankfully, today we do not rely solely on a click because we can set and perform against a variety of performance KPIs. Measurement is more sophisticated than in 2000 and the ability to set a goal, optimize, and measure in a robust way is possible too.  Since we have the luxury of sophisticated measurement today, we also have the responsibility as stewards of our advertiser’s dollars to get it right.  We are responsible for guiding sound strategies, targeting the appropriate audiences, delivering a message that resonates, measuring well, and reporting data that informs the impact to the bottom line.  When curating a campaign strategy, it can be an effective exercise to think through the entire journey from creative to outcomes – from the perspective of the consumer.  And back to that question "what is performance?" With so many options for measurement, the answer depends on the goal of the campaign. When I think of digital performance, a few examples come to mind:                - incremental reach   - lift in awareness or favorability as measured by a brand study - consideration as inferred by website visits  - consideration or shopping as measured with foot traffic studies - deep page visits on a website inferring intent to purchase or resulting in an online purchase  - actual purchases as measured by credit card swipes, product level purchase data, auto registrations, or first-party CRM data  There is a lot more to the marketing funnel, and a great deal more to say about performance, than what we’ve shared today. But asking the question “what does performance mean?” is an important starting point, particularly in the year 2024.   If you’re questioning the performance of your campaigns, reach out to us info@brkthru.com We’d welcome a conversation!

What We Heard @ eTourism Summit 2024 by Matt Zornes, Director of Sales Development The annual eTourism Summit 2024 was in Las Vegas recently, and I was fortunate to attend along with hundreds of travel and tourism professionals including DMOs, state and regional travel associations, attractions, cruise lines, airlines and hotels, tour operators and marketers and advertising agencies. This was an opportunity to network and gain a deeper understanding of the forces at play as the travel and tourism industry continues to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bright spot is travel is predicted to reach 98 percent of pre-pandemic levels in 2024 with a full recovery expected in 2025. Most of the DMOs at the summit are looking for more ways to boost visits. Interestingly, about 20 percent in attendance are dealing with the phenomenon of “over tourism,” the situation when too many people visit a place all at one time, and the locale is spoiled, making it difficult for tourists and those who live there. “Travel is sexy again” was a common theme along with lots of talk about shoulder season – the low points on either side of seasonal peaks. Think about the days or weeks before and after Spring Break and holidays. The general sentiment is destinations need to try and segment their audience in new ways and push them to come in the right before or after peak season. There was significant discussion around cookie deprecation and the methods for acquiring or using first-party data to counteract the gap. The main ideas for acquiring first-party data were giveaways, in-person activations (including welcome centers and travel kiosks that capture travelers) and paid digital lead-generation. The key was to not sit on the data that DMOs and others in the industry already collect. CTV/OTT and YouTube are becoming havens for both broad reach and niche content, and perfect for an industry where video and sound demonstrate attractions and events. These are a just a few of the many topics that also included conversion metrics, TikTok and other social media platforms, the most-prolific travelers (Millennials, and how to reach them and keep them engaged), and the challenges of performance measures with legacy media. If you’re a travel and tourism professional, DMO, marketer or agency and would like to have a more in-depth conversation with us at Brkthru about these trends and opportunities in the travel industry, reach out to info@brkthru.com. We’d like to start a conversation and share some of our significant experience reaching leisure and business-to-business travelers.

It’s Make or Break Season for Lawn & Garden by Ben Coburn, Director of Client Success As winter turns to spring, the snow, ice, and cold turn to green grass, plantings, sunshine, and warm weather. If you’re in the Lawn and Landscape industry or an Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) dealer, you know this is the time to get your brand out and to take advantage of the “make or break” seasonality of your business. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a greater than average demand for groundskeepers as more two-income families exist with less time to mow lawns. Specifically, homeowners who use these services spend approximately $8,150 annually. When it comes to Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE), nearly half lawnmowers, lawn tractors, trimmers, leaf blowers and more are sold at big box stores like The Home Depot and Lowe’s, yet 51% continue to be sold at the tens of thousands of local independent servicing dealers. These local businesses are more than just stores – they’re hubs of knowledge and a personalized approach as well as provide tune-up and repair services that the big box stores don’t. Over the past five years, OPE industry revenue rose at 1.9% to $13.2 billion, including an anticipated increase of 1.8% in 2024 alone. The average homeowner spends $200 per year on OPE in all retail channels, and even more ($218) at independent dealers. Nursery and garden stores (big box and local) have experienced flourishing revenue growth, selling trees, shrubs, plants, seeds, bulbs and sod to households. Rising disposable income and increased private spending on home improvements have helped. Individuals aged 35 and younger have expressed increased interest and demand for small plants, like succulents, to enhance the aesthetic of their living spaces. Strong interest in gardening has led industry-wide revenue to increase 1.8% over the past five years, and is expected to reach $48.7 billion in 2023. So, how do you reach homeowners in need for services, lawn care equipment and plants and seeds during a highly competitive and limited growing season? While SEM is vital, and the cost of a click grows with the grass during the spring, having adequate budget is key to the bottom of the funnel. However, let’s not forget the top! Display and or Meta can strike the perfect full-funnel approach to making sure you’re top of mind for consumers as they evaluate their outdoor plans this spring. For neighborhood servicing OPE dealers and nurseries and garden centers, paid social media leverages the local community aspect of these platforms. Following your potential customer online this spring is a sure fire way to increase leads and sales! The digital media pros at Brkthru know how to plant seeds and harvest sales among outdoor-minded homeowners for lawn and landscape companies, OPE dealers and nurseries and garden centers. Reach out to start a conversation info@brkthru.com now as the growing season gets underway.

The 4/20 Buzz: We Recap Recent Cannabis Industry Events Growth of the legal cannabis industry continues to surge in the U.S. - to $28.8 billion in 2023 and nearly 500,000 jobs – and Brkthru attended two east-coast cannabis events recently. It’s somewhat hard to believe that nearly 30 years ago California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Time flies. The medical use of cannabis since 1996 has been legalized in 40 states and the District of Columbia. The recreational or adult-use of cannabis has been approved in the District of Columbia and 24 states. And more states are legalizing both medial and recreational cannabis use each year. Competition among providers is fierce. The New England Cannabis Convention (NECANN) in Boston March 22-23 marked their tenth anniversary. Hundreds of cannabis Industry professionals across the New England region took advantage of this great B2B event, networking with businesses, entrepreneurs, advocates, investors, educators, and others working in the Cannabis space. Brkthru was lucky to meet and collaborate with hundreds of exhibitors and attendees, discussing their local markets, how to reach B2B or B2C customers, growth opportunities for 2024 in their region and upcoming legislative changes that could legalize adult use marijuana in more states. NECANN will host another seven shows throughout New England and the east coast this year. (Filed by Colleen Buzza, Senior Director of Client Success) Another heavily attended cannabis event was MJ Unpacked in Atlantic City, April 9-11. This highly curated show is exclusive to cannabis retail and brand executives A limited number of ancillary companies were invited to exhibit and sponsor….and Brkthru was fortunate to be one of them! Every panel was more interesting than the next and the networking events provided a nice forum to make connections. We met with a very wide variety of businesses within the cannabis industry and our expertise in the vertical was well-received. Most common question on the minds of these proprietors is how to maximize advertising with all numerous restrictions for cannabis advertisers. Enter Brkthru, stage left. (Field by Cari Galle, Director of Client Success) If you’re an agency managing campaigns for cannabis brands or a marketer in the cannabis industry and want to have a conversation about how Brkthru reaches cannabis consumers and providers in this rapidly growing industry using hyper-targeted and successful digital media tactics, hit us up info@brkthru.com.

Relaxing poolside Roaming the Las Vegas Strip Enjoying headliner performances Seeing the Hoover Damn Viewing the Grand Canyon via helicopter Hiking Sloan Canyon Kayaking the Colorado River Touring the Red Rocks Canyon on scooters Browsing shops Skydiving from 10,000 feet Taking a chance at the tables Cheering at a hockey game Becoming engaged to be married Nearly 150 Brkthru team members and plus ones recently experienced these and more as grateful recipients of our three-day rewards trip celebrating a successful 2023. After kicking off the celebratory weekend with a welcome reception on the Rose Rooftop at Resorts World, employees were on their own to relax or take in the sights and sounds of Las Vegas and the surrounding area. Thank you to our Co-Founders and Managing Directors Andrew Sklerov and Jeff Hastedt for their generosity by rewarding employees for their commitment to one of our Core Values – Contribution. (A special CONGRATULATIONS to our colleague Joe and his fiance Alli, who became engaged during the trip!)

Since its first issue in 2022, the Brkthru newsletter The Brk_down has grown to more than 30,000 subscribers. That’s one heck of an achievement. Each month we cover the hottest topics in digital media with in-depth articles written by the experts at Brkthru, and aggregate fast-read updates in a new feature we’re calling i2K (Info to Know). In this month’s newsletter we share: - The start of the critical Spring-Summer season for those in the Lawn & Garden, Landscape and Outdoor Power segments. - A recap by two members of our Client Success team who met with attendees at recent East Coast Cannabis industry events in Boston and Atlantic City, where they networked and shared Brkthru’s experience and expertise reaching cannabis consumers with proven digital media tactics. - A Point-of-View on by our super-smart Vice President of Performance & Measurement Traci Will on Campaign Performance. - And “What We Heard at eTourism ‘24” from a recent travel and tourism summit in Las Vegas. If you’re an agency or advertiser and need to stay up-to-speed on the rapidly evolving and increasingly important world of digital media O(and one up your colleagues), you need to subscribe. The Brk_down provides thought leadership that now more than 30,000 of your peers are following, so you don’t want to be left behind. Subscribe, and let us know if you have a topic of interest you’d like us to follow: brkthrumarketing@brkthru.com

Jonathan Mellinger Promoted to President of Brkthru! As Brkthru continues its success in the paid digital media services industry, COO Jonathan Mellinger has been promoted to the new position of President.   Co-Founders and Managing Directors Andrew Sklerov and Jeff Hastedt launched Brkthru in 2017 and operated as co-owners and stewards of the business with Jonathan joining the company in 2019 as COO. In that role, Jonathan led the business to consecutive years of new client relationships, innovative digital media offerings, seamless processes, impressive client satisfaction scores, a differentiated brand positioning and continued years of unprecedented sales growth (Brkthru was named to the Inc. 5000 of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for the past two years).   “As Andrew and I focus on ensuring Brkthru remains competitive, this move in our senior management creates an opportunity for a greater experience for our clients and employees,” said Jeff Hastedt.   With his promotion, all leadership roles report to Jonathan.   “Jonathan marks his five-year anniversary this month with Brkthru, and we can't think of a better way to celebrate,” added Andrew Sklerov. “Please join us in congratulating Jonathan on this important new post as our official leader.”   Jonathan has spent more than two decades in digital marketing as a successful entrepreneur, investor, and operating executive. He has been an integral part of founding teams that have grown businesses from several employees and an idea to hundreds of employees and millions in revenues. Today, Brkthru is a team of nearly 170 digital media, marketing and operations professionals. “Brkthru’s employees and leaders are the most talented, resourceful, and ingenious digital media experts I’ve worked with in my career,” said Jonathan. “I am excited to work alongside them as we continue to build upon Andrew and Jeff’s original vision of delivering the best service and performance to our agency and advertising partners.”